W8ERBOT : Autonomous robot waiter

Sammanfattning: The advent of robotics and automation leaves few industries untouched. Today, robots assist in everything between production lines at automotive manufacturing plants to home cleaning. One area that remains relatively untouched by robotics however, is the restaurant industry. The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis was to develop a prototype designed to assist with one of the tasks a restaurant waiter faces - food delivery. In order to accomplish this the robot must be able to drive and navigate in a restaurant environment and deliver food, all the while communicating with both restaurant staff and guests. The project resulted in a differentially steered robot that navigates using infrared, radio-frequency identification and ultrasonic modules. An elevator mechanism was devised to present the food to the guests. The user interface consists of a screen and a keypad. The prototype was tested successfully on an oval track measuring 3 by 1 meters. The tests showed that such a robot could likely be implemented in most restaurant settings.